The Aftermath of a Productive Weekend

MONDAY MADNESS
"The best laid plans of mice and men..." 

That's the beginning of a line in Robert Burn's poem, "To a Mouse, on Turning Her Up in Her Nest with the Plough," and often describes my weekend plans.

Not this past weekend.

In fact, the weekend was more productive than most and considerably more satisfying.  I had a list.  Not a long list, only four items.  For once, I didn't go mad and overdo, which leads to disappointment in myself.  No, this one was simple.

A load of laundry and several loads of dishes on Friday (we've been saving up *wink*), followed by the replacement of a light switch on Saturday morning.  Yes, I'm a handy little devil.  Or would be if I had done it right.  Unfortunately, I didn't, but neither did I cause a flash fire.  That's a win.  And, after a little more research, I discovered what I needed to do, so it now reappears on my list of chores-for-later-in-the-week.  No need to push it.  The light hasn't worked for some time.  A few more days won't matter.  Live and learn, right?  The last of the errant dishes---how do they manage to meander into other rooms?---were done, and I moved on to finish some small updates on my website.  Not a lot of work, but everything on the list crossed off.  Well, except for that light switch, but that's covered.

There was also the editing of the first three chapters of what will (I hope) be the first of a series of books that I wrote in the spring a year ago.  The tentative series name is The Divine Misfits.  Maybe.  We'll see how that goes.  So what if there are still  eleven chapters to go?  It's begun and, with luck, will be finished by Sunday.  That's the plan.

This feeling of accomplishment is rare, and I think I've discovered the secret.  Of course, most everyone but me knows that secret.  I'm a little slow on the uptake.  And what is it?  Don't overload yourself with trying to do too much!  Obviously my goal setting has weak spots.  But I'm working on that.  When it comes to writing, it isn't difficult.  When it comes to normal, everyday life, yeah, there are problems.

Yesterday (Sunday) was good, especially because it was our writers group meeting.  A week later than usual, thanks to Mother's Day, so even more welcome.  There's nothing like getting together with like-minded and wonderful friends.  I could do this all the time!  And with a handful of us vowing to meet for critiquing once a week, it's all good.  I'm pumped.  But I'm also trying not to get over-pumped.  That leads to downfall.  So it's take one small thing at a time and enjoy.

I'm learning new things.  I'm reading blogs, books, articles and whatever appears as a gift from the Universe to see life in a different way.  I like to call myself a realist, but over the years, I've become more pessimistic.  If something good happened (and it does), it was easier to say it was a fluke.  Now I'm trying to expect the good stuff.  Why not?  Shouldn't we choose the good over the bad?  I mean, if we have a choice---which we do---let's choose not only good, but great!  I like that.  I really do.  (Doing some weird Sally Field channeling here.)

Yes, there are a million things that need to be done to get the things in my life in line to the way I want it.  But they can't all be done in a day, a weekend, or even a week.  They take time.  And time is often our enemy.  Instead, let's make it our friend.  Don't overload yourself with trying to do too much!  Yes, it's definitely worth repeating.  And now that I know the secret...

In the end, what I got from all this was that I could have the best of both worlds:  Getting things done AND enjoying the weekend.  What could be better than that?  There's still laundry to be done, winter clothes to wash, dry, fold, pack away until the weather turns cold again.  Small closets and not enough drawer space means everything can't always be at hand.  That's okay.  We understand it.  It's become a tradition to start mentioning it as the weather begins to change, and finally saying, "Let's get it done today."  There's still the office that could use a bulldozer, but it, too, will be done in small doses and chunks.  Why not?  It isn't going anywhere on its own.  Lots of sort and toss and store...and finding new places to store.  Just how many file folders need to be on hand at all times?

In a few days, school will be out, and this summer may be unlike the past nine summers, filled with grandkids bickering and running crazy, trips to the library and trying to find enough food to please and fill up five growing youngsters.  I need the break.  I deserve the break.  (See that positive there?)  I want to enjoy this time.  It's MY TURN.  (Please pass that on to my offspring.)

Monday Madness will remain as it's called, only because it's MONDAY, but there'll be some small changes.  Change is good.  Change is healthy.  Change is fun!  One day at a time.  One step at a time.  And, hey, I might actually become that productive person I dream of being?

How was your weekend?  Did you have (TAKE!) the opportunity to make it a good one?  Or would you like to climb out of the rut?  Let's take the road together and see where it takes us, pitfalls and all, because there will always be those...unless we live on a faraway island where no one can find us.

Check back next week and see if this new positive course continues to work.  Yes, there will be a failure here and there, but focusing on the successes will take care of those, right?  And next week I'll share some links I've discovered that are helping me along my way.  Maybe you'll find something helpful, too.!

"The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential... these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence."  ~  Confucius

SMART Goals 4 - Final Friday

Today is the last of our SMART Goals series.  That doesn't mean you get a break, once today is over. :)  It means that if you haven't set a goal yet, it's time to get to work.  If you have set a goal, you should be working on it.

GOAL= I want
GOAL REACHED= I have

Between those two is work.  A person can't simply want without doing and hope for the best.  It takes work, it takes dedication, it means sticking to your goal and all the little goals that get you to have.

On this final day, we're going to look at the last of the tasks we need to focus on and the questions we need to ask ourselves.  The two words that define T in SMART are Time-Bound and Touchable.

TIME-BOUND
Our lives are all about time.  We know that there are 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, and 24 hours in a day.  Add 7 days in a week, 52 weeks or 12 months in a year, and we have the basis of time in our lives.  We can't work 24 hours a day for 52 weeks over the time we're here on earth.  We know there are things we have to do to live.  We eat, we play, we sleep, we work.  That's the cycle of our lives.  And throughout much of those things, we pray and wish.  Our lives are run by goals.  "I'm expected to get to work at 8 a.m."  "I sleep so I can be rested for tomorrow."  "I'm hungry, so I eat."  On and on, throughout each day, we have goals.  Most of the time we work on them without a lot of thought, because they've become natural to us.  Big goals, the ones that will help shape our lives and our futures, take more time and thought.

The final steps in setting a big goal is to ask yourselves these two questions.

• When will I achieve my goal?

"Someday I want to..." isn't a goal.  It's a dream.  Remember that dreams are the basis of our goals.  They're what spur us on to set those goals, to do things that will help us realize our dreams.

When setting the "when" of goal achievement, take into account that life never runs smoothly.  There will always be something that pulls you away from the steps and small goals you've set to get what you want...what you dream of having or doing.  

When we think of working on a goal, we often think of it in terms of weeks, months, or years.  Because these are the measures of time we use, keep them uppermost in mind when setting the time of achieving the goal.  Do you have a big goal, one that will take more time than one that's more simple?  Give it a year.  Give it two years, if needed.  Never short yourself on time.  Factor in those somethings that could pull you away from your goal.  Don't overwork yourself, but always try to keep you goal in mind.  And especially remember to take time for yourself (non-goal life), your family and your friends.

• What's my deadline?

Scary word, deadline.  I've come to the conclusion while working on my current deadlines that the word is apropos. Spot on.  Dead on.  I may be initially excited when I meet a goal on time, but when that rush of adrenalin vanishes, I may often want to sleep for days.  Not that I can, but I sure would like to. ☺

Do you know the origin of the word deadline?  Check it out here.  There's a reason it's called a dead-line.  That doesn't mean that deadlines are bad.  They're needed to reach our goals, whether it's getting healthy by exercise or losing weight (always a #1 on those New Year's resolution lists), taking a dreamed-of vacation, getting a better job, an education, or, yes, writing a book.  We need a way to reach that goal, that deadline.  We set goals.  We NEED deadlines, or we might never work toward our dreams and goals.  Goals take work.  Don't be afraid of doing it or from reaching your goal.

TOUCHABLE

Here's the question to ask yourself: 

•  What will I have to hold as a completed result?

Losing weight is touchable.  Our bodies are lighter, our old clothes aren't clinging to us as they did before.  We'll have new clothes to replace the old one's we give away.

Taking that cruise is touchable.  We feel the spray of the ocean on our faces, the movement of the ship across the water, the feel of the wind and sun on our faces.  And hundreds of photos to share with others and take out, from time to time, to relive the experience again and again.

A completed manuscript is something we can hold in our hands, and someday it may become a published book.  (Another goal to reach?)  

A college diploma that has been a long-term goal is touchable.  

Learning to ride a bike or a drive a car is touchable.

Have you set your goal?

Have you set a smart goal?

Here they are again, those questions to ask yourself as you set your goal.  As you work through your goal, you can use these questions to keep you on track and to adjust your goal, if needed.  

SPECIFIC - Who, What, When, Where, Why, How?

Can your goal be broken into smaller steps?

MEASURABLE - How will you know when you're done?

MOTIVATIONAL - Is your goal emotionally charged?  Do you have the energy to carry out the goal?

ATTAINABLE - Is your goal realistic?

ACCOUNTABLE - Can your goal be tracked and accounted for?

RELEVANT - How does this fit into your life now?

RESPONSIBLE - Will your goal or working on it cost you friends?  Respect from family?  Your integrity?  Will it be easy to respond to changes IF required?

TIME-BOUND - When will you achieve your goal?  What's your deadline?

TOUCHABLE - What will you have to hold as a completed result?


SMART (S.M.A.R.T.) Goals.  Our tools to make our dreams come true.

All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them. ~ Walt Disney

SMART Goals 2

For anyone who stopped by here to take a look on Friday, you're doing better than I am.  It's 11:20 p.m. my time, and I'm finally getting to this.  Between a grandson who was sick and didn't make it to school, but needed to be watched over, to far too many website updates and Facebook Page creating, to a daughter who asked if I'd pick up her daughter after school, to another daughter who had to attend a funeral, the day didn't work out as expected.  And I'm 3 days behind on my daily goals. *sigh*

But I'm here, and I'll share what I know about setting smart goals.  I still have a lot to learn.  Obviously.

Last week we looked into the Who, What, When, Why, How of setting goals.  Today we're going  to double up with the M and the A in SMART.  And both use two words each.

MEASURABLE

As it asks in the graphic above, How will you know when you're done?  A relative question, since a goal without end isn't a real goal.

A goal is something to work toward.  With writers, that goal can be a number of things.  The most popular are page goals and word count goals.  A goal might be to write a book, but that can often be more easily measured by the number of pages or number of words you'll need to write.  My books run between 58,000 words to 60,000 words.  Someone else's might be double that.  A novella might be a little more than half that.

The writers group I belong to offers two different chances to work toward goals.  One is short term, the other much longer.

Our short-term group is what's called BIAW or Book In A Week.  No, we don't expect to write a book in a week, but it doesn't give us incentive to write.  Although it's supposed to be a week, we extend it an extra day, so our week is actually 8 days.  (Hat tip to the Beatles.)  We do it twice a month, every month, beginning on the first Sunday through the second Sunday, then turn around and do it again on the third Sunday through the fourth.  Before it begins, those who want to participate declare by email how many pages we've set as our goal for the week.  My goal, beginning this coming Sunday, is 50 pages.  I know I can do it, but I'll have to work hard to reach it.

The second group is our yearly Word Count Challenge.  This is our third year.  In January, we declare our goal of words written during the year, and at the end of each month, we announce our monthly word total.  A spread sheet is used to keep track of each member's Goal, and both monthly and accumulated total.  The first year we tended to overreach.  Our group's yearly total goal for 2013 was 910,000 words.  The fifteen of us wrote 838,960.  We reached 92% of our goal, 1% better than the year before.  This year our group goal, a combination of all individual goals, is 1,340,001.  (That 1 is a race between two members, both published.)  Will we make it?  We'll try!

Here are a few questions to ask yourself when setting your goal.

• Is your goal is measurable?  Without knowing the specifics, you'll be at loose ends and may not reach your goal or struggle with reaching it.  Maybe you aren't a writer, and your goal is to lose 20 pounds in a year.  Or whatever reasonable and reachable goal of pounds might be.  A yearly goal makes it easy to measure.  Or you want to be more fit.  Walking, running, exercise all need goals, too.
• Can your goal be broken down into smaller goals?  Easy with a yearly goal.  There are twelve months in a year.  If I'm writing a 12 chapter book at approximately 60,000 words, I'll have to write 1 chapter per month/5,000 words.  You can break that down to the number of scenes or number of words.  Decide how much time you have for writing, and you'll know how many words or pages you'll need to write each day.  And you don't have to write every day.
• Are there other priorities that come before writing?  If you're a mother with small children or a working woman, or a working woman with children, huge chunks of writing time are hard to find. (Men also have priorities, the same as women.) Some people get up an hour earlier in the morning, some stay up an hour or two later.  Some people write during their lunchtime.  Some write during baby/child's naptime.  When is your best time?
• Will it be possible to work on your goals during holidays and/or vacations?  My daughters are grown, but holidays still roll around each year.  I've written during Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, summers full of grandchildren, and helping other family members with their own goals and schedules.  I do get more done on weekends, but for some people, this isn't always the best time to hole away.  Be sure to factor in the things you know in advance that will take time away from your goal.  Work around those time.  It may take a little less sleep, less television or movies, or something else, but it comes down to priorities.  Family is always first priority.
• What happens if sickness intrudes and messes up the goals?  It happens to the healthiest of us.  If it does, and you fall behind on your short-term goals, don't beat yourself up.  When you feel up to it, work a little on your goal, but don't wear yourself out and end up being sick longer.  That's counter-productive.  If you have to make up some time on your goal, do it in small stages.  An extra page here and there will soon have you back on your goal schedule.  The same goes for most everything else.  But don't give up food if you're dieting!!

Give yourself enough time to set reasonable goals.  Rushing into it without giving thought to your lifestyle, demands of others, and the inevitable things that intrude, will only cause you to give up.  That's not what working toward!  When that book, or diet, or exercise routine or whatever your goal is all about is reached, you're done!  And then you can turn around and do it again. ☺

Now for the second M.

MOTIVATIONAL

Is your goal emotionally charged?  Are you motivated enough to spend the time needed to reach your goal? 

1. Do you want to reach this goal bad enough to give up something else you love, once in a while?  Yes, that hot fudge sundae is calling you to take a spin to Sonic, but think of that weight-loss goal.
2. Do you have the energy to carry out the goal?  Training for a race can be grueling.  Staying up late or getting up early to do whatever it's going to take to reach that goal must be done in moderation that will keep you going, not lead you to giving up.  Goals can be adjusted.  Missed goal-working time can be made up.  But if you find you're not getting enough rest, and you're falling asleep at work or during your favorite TV show or your son's soccer game or daughter's dance recital, it's time to adjust the goal-work that's causing it.

Last but not least, we're to the two As.  All of the letters in SMART are needed for setting your goals.  Don't skimp, don't skip.  Think it through.

ATTAINABLE

Is your goal realistic?  We took a look at this last week with Will it Work?  Let's face it.  Most of us aren't going to run in the Boston Marathon our first time out.  The majority of writers will not sell their first book.  We aren't going to be an Olympian in only a few short months.  Or probably in a year.  But there are a lot of things that can be done in a year.  If you can break down a yearly goal into small chunks and bites of time or practice or training or whatever, it should be attainable.  Your goal shouldn't take up every moment of your life, but it should be a priority.  If you feel it's taking too much time away from other things, adjust your goal to fit you and your life.

ACCOUNTABLE

We're all held accountable for nearly everything we do.  It starts when we're young.  Remember chores and chore charts when you were growing up?  Mom or Dad made up the list, and we were accountable for getting them done.  Now that we're grown up, we're still accountable...to our boss, or spouse, our friends, even our children.

Can your goal be tracked?  This is a big one.  When it comes to goals, falling back on those chore charts might not be such a bad thing.  There are hundred, if not thousands or millions of ways to track goals.  I use spreadsheets.  And calendars.  Right now, I know I have to write 1 scene a day.  Why a scene?  It has a beginning and an end.  My calendar tells me what I need to be working on, what my goal for the day will be.  My spreadsheets help me keep track of how many pages and words I've written in a day, a week, a month.  They tell me how far I've gone and how far I have to get to the end.  My editor isn't going to accept a 40,000 words book.  I'm going to need a lot more than that.  I'll admit that it can be exhilarating, the closer I get to reaching my goal.  Those last two chapters, those last few scenes, almost write themselves.  I want to reach that goal, and by tracking my progress, I know I can make it or at least how hard I'll have to work to reach it.

There are all kinds of tracking programs and spreadsheets on the Internet for anything you might imagine.  Use one of them or make your own, as I do.  The one thing you have to remember is to KEEP TRACK each day as you work on your goal.  Find the best way to be accountable.

If you have a friend or family member who you can count on to keep you accountable (Did you write today?  Did you walk that two miles?), it's a lot easier to stay on track.  And be sure it's a friend who wants to see you succeed, not one who will lure you away from your goals. :)  Buddy-up with a friend, if h/she is working on a similar goal.  Encouragement from others can go a long, long way.

And you thought setting goals would be easy?  Nothing is easy.  But the rewards are magnificent!

Next week we'll work on the Rs=Relevant and Responsible.  Yes, more thinking and planning.  Before you know it, you'll be setting goals for all kinds of things.  And reaching them!

It is not enough to take steps which may some day lead to a goal; each step must be itself a goal and a step likewise. ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

So You Want to be a Writer...

Millions of people think of becoming a writer.  Only a small percentage actually do.  There are probably as many reasons for both.  It looks like fun, but the truth is that it's hard work and not for the faint-hearted.  It can be brutal, it can be fabulous!  But there's no way of knowing which and when will happen, because both do.

I'll be upfront and honest and say without qualms that I am not a NY Times Bestselling Author.  I don't have awards stretched along my fireplace mantle.  I don't even have a fireplace, much less a mantle.  I haven't sold as many books as some, but I've sold more than others.  In fact, I have two, very close friends who have topped the charts.  Does that bother me?  Not really.  I focus on myself, not everyone else.  I don't need to be the Joneses next door.  Trying to do that is counterproductive.  I'd drive myself crazy.  Okay, crazy-ER.

It's my opinion that there are four kinds of writers.  Let's take a look at them.

1. People who dream about being a writer and may have even told people about their dream, but haven't written anything.  
2. People who write sporadically, when the mood strikes, but enjoy being around people who write.
3. People who are actively writing toward a goal of being published and continue to learn new things.
4. People who have had a book published--or have published a book--and are actively working on the next.  Learning new things are a must in their life.

#1's are simply dreamers.  They usually love reading and wish to someday do the same.  However, they haven't looked into the process of writing and publishing.  They, like dreamers, dream of someday writing a book...when there's time.  Maybe.  These are the people we hear say, "Someday I'm going to write a book about [whatever topic is being discussed].  There are times when this can lead to actually moving forward and investigating what goes into writing a book.

#2's are what are known as hobbyists.  There's nothing wrong with being a hobbyist.  Having interest in doing something is good.  Many writing hobbyists are even voracious readers.  There are a few who rarely read, but enjoy listening to others talk about writing and will say they are writing, too.

#3's are writers.  They have done and continue to do their "homework."  They attend conferences, workshops, either in person or online, and keep up with what's going on in the publishing world.  They get together with writer friends and join writing groups to talk about and learn more about writing and publishing.  But most importantly, they are writing...at least once a week, if not more.  They are writers.

#4's understand how important it is to write and continue to learn about all aspects of writing.  In the meantime, they write nearly every day (or night).  They write wherever and whenever they can, whether it's waiting while kids attend activities or even on vacation.  They work hard and have deadlines to meet.  They are Writers.

Which number are you?

Kristen Lamb said in her June 10, 2013 blog post, Traits of the Successful Author--Self Discipline, "If you want to be a professional, careful hanging out with too many amateurs. When I say amateur, I don’t mean unpublished (pre-published) writers. I mean writers who are hobbyists. If you’re in a writing group, and it might as well be a coffee klatshe? Find another group or create one on WANATribe."

Well said, Kristen!

Which number are you?  Are you happy where you are?  If so, that's fine.  If you aren't, why aren't you?  Ask yourself what's keeping you from moving on.  Even multi-published authors can and do ask themselves this question.  The answer?  Each one is different, just as each writer is different.  Know where you are and decide where you want to be.  If you're a #2 and happy, you're where you want to be.  If you're a #1, and do nothing beyond dreaming, ask yourself what's important, dreaming or doing and do something about it, if needed.  #3?  Keep learning and keep writing!  Even when it feels like the odds are against you, keep moving forward.  Keep writing.  The publishing world is changing, and you may find the right place to be and the right (write?) you.

Follow your dream, then live your dream.

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world. 

 -- Harriet Tubman

Scarlett O'Hara Syndrome

MOTIVATION MONDAYS


You may be asking, what is Scarlett O'Hara Syndrome.  There's a simple answer to that.

"I won't think about that now, I'll think about that tomorrow." 

Back in January of this year, I declared each Monday to be Motivational Monday here on the blog.  The reason was that I'd been procrastinating about all kinds of things, but mostly about things that needed to be done--some desperately needing to be done-- that I'd kept putting off.

I've been working on that problem and although I'd love to say I have it solved, that would be a lie.  Still, I've made some progress.  Most of the time, anyway.

If we tend to put many things off until later, it's probably a habit we formed long ago.  It can be changed, but it takes some work...which probably brings another round of procrastinating.  Definitely a vicious circle.  But it can be better, and a round of seeing a shrink isn't necessarily needed.  Sometimes it's best to just do than to study why it isn't done.

A friend and fellow writers group member blogged at Bits & Bytes on Thursday about her own procrastination. Because I'd been putting off the need to get some words on paper or work on revisions or do a few other things, her post was a painful reminder that I sometimes have that P word problem, too.  Let's face it.  At one time or another, we each will put off what needs to be done the most.

When it comes to writers, when procrastination becomes a normal part of the writing life, there's a chance it's because of one of two reasons:  Fear of Failure or Fear of Success.

Only the procrastinating writer can decided which fear has gained the power to immobilize.  And trying to determine it could end up being yet another tool in avoidance.  So what's a procrastinator to do?  Especially a writer with dreams of being published or a published writer who has fallen into a writing slump?

Here are a few suggestions to try that might break the stagnation and kick start some forward movement.

BEGIN NOW

• Stop beating yourself up.  You can make a change.  
• Stop complaining and whining (yes, we all do it), and form a plan.
• Make a fresh start.  There's nothing we can do to change what we did or didn't do in the past, so leave it behind.
• Set a goal.  Don't sabotage yourself before you begin, so make it small and attainable to begin with.  If your writing has become non-existent or almost non-existent, and you want to change that, set a weekly page or word count goal.  Keep it small.
• Make a new habit.  A GOOD one. ☺  Get up an hour early and devote it to writing or whatever it is you need to do.  Turn off the television for an hour or two in the evening.  If you're a writer, take a pad and pen or a laptop computer and go to a library or coffee shop or even to a park and write.  I've found that my morning walk clears the cobwebs from my brain and gets it working, so that by the time I'm  home again, I have an idea of what I'll be writing.
• Give yourself little rewards whenever you reach a goal.

ENLIST FRIENDS

• Ask a friend to help keep you on track.  Even if the two of you don't share the same goal, you can still  support and encourage each other.
• Find others who are dealing with or have dealt with the same problem and brainstorm some ideas that might help.
• Challenge someone who struggles with the same thing you do.  Remember that it's not who does it best, but that each of you are DOING.

Sometimes there's only one way and that's the Nike way.  "Just Do It"  We can make excuses until the end of time, but if we really want something, we have to take that first step.  After that, the road ahead doesn't look quite as daunting.

If procrastination is something you deal with and you find yourself going nowhere, or if you have some ideas that may help others, please feel free to share them here!


Thank you to Tammy, Reese, Pat, and Debo for the inspiration for this post, their always super ideas, and their friendship.


In the end of GWTW, the real Scarlett--- the strong, independent woman, who never let anyone or anything get her down---gives us all hope.

"Tara! Home. I'll go home. And I'll think of some way to get him back. After all... tomorrow is another day." - Scarlett O'Hara, the last lines of Gone With the Wind

There's a Reason They're Called Deadlines

MOTIVATION MONDAYS

Writers aren't the only ones who have deadlines.  Many others do, too.  Teachers have teaching and grading deadlines to meet each quarter, businesses have payroll deadlines to meet, and the IRS has tax deadlines.  Appropriate for the day before taxes are due, isn't it?

Right now I'm facing a deadline to finish writing the full manuscript of a book.  This will be the seventh story set in Desperation, Oklahoma, and will introduce two new characters who are brothers and the new women who win their hearts.  Characters from previous books will, of course, make appearances and be a part of the two stories.  I've really enjoyed writing this series and am looking forward to finishing this story and meeting the May 10 deadline, so I can start on the next one.

I'll be one of the first to admit that it was easier to write when deadlines were nothing to get excited about and no one was waiting for a finished product.  I could write at my own pace, which, by the way, was much faster than it is now!  Sometimes learning how to do it better means doing it a little slower.  That doesn't mean that I didn't try to set a pace and have a finish date of some kind in mind.  Because I entered contests fairly often and always had a complete manuscript of my entry, I knew ahead of time when I wanted to have the manuscript finished.  Part of that had to do with never writing a synopsis until the "book" was finished.  Just one more thing I had to learn to do differently later on.

Deadlines are those goals we make and need motivation to reach.  My motivation at the moment is to not disappoint my editor by having to ask for an extension.  Even though I'm behind schedule, it isn't an impossibility to finish on the time.  It will, however, mean I have to work harder and faster.  It's easy to start out with a positive attitude, but it's just as easy to become more negative as time goes by.  Characters become uncooperative.  Plot points that seemed perfect before now seem weak.  Time to write becomes harder to come by and family/job/life requires more time than writing will allow.

If your goals aren't being as easily met as you'd hoped and planned; if external things have taken up time that you'd planned to spend writing or working on your goal, now isn't the time to give up. Pull up the boot straps of determination, take a deep breath, and throw in a dash of positive energy for good measure.  As we used to say at CataRomance, BICHOK (Butt In Chair, Hands On Keyboard) and start writing.  There's no guarantee that you'll hit that deadline, but you'll come closer to doing it, if you just keep your eye on the deadline and move in that direction.

Oh! I nearly forgot.  Why do they call them deadlines?  Because we'll kill ourselves to get to the finish line. ;)

Some men give up their designs when they have almost reached the goal; while others, on the contrary, obtain a victory by exerting, at the last moment, more vigorous efforts than before. ~ Polybius

Success - Writing Wednesdays

Yes, I know.  It's Thursday, not Wednesday.  My Writing Wednesday was consumed by websites and other people's needs.  But that won't stop me from sharing my thoughts, even though it is a day late.  So let's take a look at changing our thought process.

As a group, those of us who create, who are artists in the broad sense of the word, tend to have trouble believing in ourselves.  True, there are those who definitely don't appear to have a problem in that area, but overall, the majority of us want to succeed but don't expect we will.

Creators---artists/writers/musicians/actors/and all the other more cerebral types---are more apt to struggle with what others might see as small and inconsequential.  For us, nothing is trifling.  Everything is a big deal...at least as far as our "art" goes.  And fear of failure is at the top of the list.  It can grip a person so tightly for so long that people often give up before they give themselves the chance to prove that fear wrong.  Silly, isn't it?

But it isn't only those considered as creators who are frozen in fear.  Many people are unable to take a step in a new direction, no matter how much they wish to achieve or change something.  That's not only silly, it's sad.  For if we don't step outside of our comfort zones now and then, we never grow.  And it's not fun to stagnate.

If you were guaranteed not to fail, what would you do?  Finish writing that book you started fifteen years ago?  Paint your kitchen fuchsia?  Take a Zumba class?  Get married?  Be a parent?  Within each of us---even those who've never doubted themselves or their abilities---there's something we want, but are afraid we'll fail to achieve.

As amazing as it is, we're in the 21st century.  According to astrologists, we're moving into an age of enlightenment.  Personal growth is just around the corner, if we only give it a try.

It's time to change the self-talk.  "I could never do that" will now become "Of course I can do that!"  It's not a should do that, it's a will do that.  Don't just stick your toe in the water, jump in!

What are you ready to try?  What thing, small or large, will be your success?  Because trying is succeeding.

Action is the foundational key to all success. - Pablo Picasso